


Missing Piece of the Puzzle

by yuletide_archivist



Category: National Treasure Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-20
Updated: 2008-12-20
Packaged: 2018-01-25 09:08:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1643186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuletide_archivist/pseuds/yuletide_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Abigail decides what's best.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Missing Piece of the Puzzle

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my wonderful betas, jennaria and azpidistra.   
>  Happy Yuletide!
> 
> Written for Addison R.

 

 

The second time that Abigail left was quiet. She smiled at him, her bag already packed and slung over her shoulder, and she asked him to walk her to the door. Confused, he followed her, half of his mind still on the research he'd been working on. "Ben, there's something missing. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I have." She pursed her lips, and sighed. "So I'm leaving." She rose to tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "I'll come home if you solve the puzzle."

Ben took his glasses off, rubbing his eyes; she'd pulled him away from translating a book, and he was still half-hearing German echoing in his head. "Abigail -"

"No." She shook her head. "Not until you've learned." She smiled again. "It's a mystery, and a puzzle. You're good at both, Ben." Without another word, she walked out, the door shutting behind her with a soft _snick_.

Ben stood in the hallway, staring at the closed door. He wasn't sure what she was talking about. He wasn't sure why she had left. Before he could begin to really think about it, he remembered a specific book that would help with the research he'd gotten stumped on, and he headed back towards the library; the matter of Abigail and her puzzling comments and more puzzling departure was put on hold until he'd tracked down the next piece of the treasure map he was building.

Days later, Ben looked up from his research, and realized he'd forgotten to eat. Nobody had been here to remind him. There was no voice in the background on the phone, explaining to someone why he'd missed an appointment, or humming to herself as she browsed the shelves.

Oh. Right. Abigail was gone.

He leaned back in his armchair, almost the only thing in the house younger than a hundred, if you didn't count him, and tried to relax. But the silence was pressing in on him, and he could feel the restlessness beginning, an itch under the skin. He wasn't sure where the journey would take him this time, but hopefully it wouldn't include anything that put him in the hospital. He knew he'd been getting lucky far too often on that front; his luck would run out eventually.

He rose and began pacing, deep in thought. The most recent letter that he'd dug up from a vault in a library in Florida had opened a whole new path towards his current goal, but the writer had phrased everything in terms of then-current spiritualistic theories, so he had to re-interpret it.

"-en. Ben. Are you in there? Hello?" Riley's voice finally penetrated his concentration, and he turned to see the younger man standing in the doorway, looking exasperated. "Oh good."

"Riley." Ben's smile was automatic; his friend was always a welcome sight. "What's up, man?"

"Not much. Jillian just decided to walk out, so I figured I'd come over here to your new bachelor pad and we could watch a game or something." He paused, thinking about what he'd said. "Well, I figured it would be more like plotting how to find Atlantis or something, not football, but the sentiment is pretty much the same."

Ben's smile widened, and he gestured for Riley to have a seat. "Well, since you're volunteering...."

"You've found Atlantis? Finally, after all these years, my dreams can come true?" Riley's wry grin flashed as he dumped his backpack on the table and collapsed into the couch.

"Not Atlantis." Ben frowned. "I'm not sure that there's any truth to that. But there's something that I was asked to look into...." He joined Riley on the couch, pulling books closer to them, flipping through pages and handing them off to be read.

He should have known that just when he needed it, Riley would show up to keep him company. Now Ben just had to start making travel arrangements. Riley had his computer in his backpack; Riley _always_ had his computer in his backpack. Somewhere on the Internet, Ben knew, Riley would be able to find them the plane and parachutes and boat that they'd need. It was what made these treasure hunts work - Ben might have an encyclopedic knowledge of history, but he was still baffled when it came to the more esoteric details of everyday modern life. Riley was good at those, good at keeping a level head even when executing a crazy stunt or idea.

Ben froze, staring at Riley. The younger man had a small frown turning his mouth down, as he deciphered the nearly illegible handwriting in the last journal that Ben had passed to him. "Something missing...."

Riley glanced up. "What? Yeah, of course something's missing. That's why we're looking for it, right?" 

"No, I mean -" Ben ran a hand through his hair, mussing it. Shock was making his eyes wide behind the narrow glasses. "I figured out what Abigail meant."

"Abigail? Didn't she leave you again?" Riley set the journal down, confusion darkening his eyes.

"You volunteered." Ben remembered his father making that comment, the first time that Ben had brought Riley and Abigail to the house. "You volunteered, when everyone else thought I was crazy."

"Well, you weren't. And look! You were right all along. Twice. So really, I think I made a pretty smart decision." Riley sighed. "What the hell are you talking about, Ben?"

Ben stood up and started pacing, keeping Riley in the corner of his eye. "When Abigail left, she told me that it was because something was missing. That she would come back if I could solve the puzzle." He stopped and pointed at Riley. "You."

"Me? What about me?"

"You're the missing piece." Ben grinned. "The best times that Abigail and I ever had were when you were with us too. You're the missing piece." He dropped to his knees in front of Riley, and caught the younger man's shirt, tugging him closer. The kiss was light, and quick, and made Riley's breath catch in his throat.

"I guess that explains Abigail's weird message on my phone, too."

"What message?" Ben's hands were warm on Riley's knees.

"She told me that I should give her a call when you came to your senses." Riley shrugged. "It was just before I found out that she'd left you, so I figured it was something to do with your next quest, not your relationship."

"We should call her." Ben jumped up, holding a hand out to Riley. "We should call her to come home." He paused. "And then we need to head to Florida. I think that we'll be able to wrap this up within a few weeks, and then we'll have time to move your stuff in."

Riley shook his head, even as he took Ben's hand. "I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about, but what the hell. Following you has worked pretty well so far."

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Abigail smiled as she heard the phone ringing. Ben babbled excitedly in her ear, while Riley was a calmer counterpoint on the other extension. She murmured the correct answers, even as she mused that she'd been right.

It had taken her some time to realize herself. At first, she'd been upset; it had seemed as though she weren't enough for Ben. Insufficient. 

But then she'd started thinking hard about Riley, and about herself. They weren't so different in the way that they treated Ben. Both of them went along with him, followed along with him. Riley, though, had always trusted that Ben knew where he was leading.

Abigail had always doubted. Herself, Ben, the situations they would get into. Riley had always been the one pulling her back from being angry, or figuring out how to make Ben's theories work in reality. 

After that, she began to notice how Ben seemed to light up whenever both Riley and she were around him. How his ideas flowed and he gestured more wildly and he tugged at both of their minds, trying to drag them along with his crazy ideas.

Abigail knew that puzzles needed many pieces. Even simple puzzles had to have more than two parts. Ben, she knew, was a very complex puzzle. Perhaps it was Ben who needed too much, rather than Abigail having too little to give.

So like any good scientist, she tested it. Put the seeds of her theory into Ben's mind, albeit in a roundabout sort of way, and waited to see what would happen. If she were right, she would get to go home, and find a new harmony in her life - one without the angry words and the harsh negotiation of material goods; a new harmony that allowed for smiles and laughter and ridiculous adventures. She was a big girl. She could share. And if she was wrong -- well. She hadn't been wrong.

The phone still cupped against her ear, listening to the next big adventure being spun out, Abigail began to pack her suitcase again. Home was only twenty minutes away, and she had a new journey to embark on. 

 


End file.
